The Rolling Stones - Angie - Guitar Lesson

Goats Head Soup (2009 Remaster)

1973 4:32

Listen on Spotify

About Angie

Few ballads in the Classic Rock canon ask as much of a fingerpicker as "Angie." The open G tuning shapes everything here: chord voicings sit in unusual places compared to standard tuning, and the descending intro figure that opens the song relies on that low open G string ringing underneath the melody. Getting that intro smooth is the first real hurdle, because the right hand needs to keep a steady fingerpicking pattern while the left hand moves through a run of barre and open-position chords. At 44 BPM the tempo is slow enough that every note has room to breathe, which means sloppy fretting or muted strings are immediately obvious. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the intro passage slowed down until the picking pattern becomes automatic before you try to add the chord transitions. The Rolling Stones recorded this in open G, so if you are not used to that tuning, spend time just getting comfortable with where your familiar chord shapes have moved before tackling the full song.

• The song is played in open G tuning, which shifts standard chord shapes significantly and gives the intro its characteristic low open-string resonance.
• The fingerpicking intro at around 44 BPM is the most demanding section, requiring a steady right-hand pattern while the left hand navigates moving chord forms.
• Practicing the descending intro figure in isolation, looped slowed down with the Practice Toolbar, is the most efficient way to build the muscle memory it needs.